Sign-ups for the 2015 Yukon Quest closed Friday, and among the roster is one Nome musher as well as a mushing heavyweight running the international race for the first time.

Nome’s Rolland Trowbridge will be making his rookie run on the trail from Whitehorse to Fairbanks this year. No other western Alaska mushers are running the Quest, but one other rookie is getting a lot of attention: Ray Redington, Jr. The Knik musher, who’s run more than a dozen Iditarods and made a habit of top-ten finishes over the past few years, signed up at the last minute Friday to run his first Yukon Quest. His lead dogs, mother Viper and son Oklahoma, are both Iditarod veterans.

Defending champion Allen Moore hopes to pull off a hat trick this year after taking first in the 2013 and 2014 race. Moore is running the team he shares with his wife and fellow big league musher Aliy Zirkle. Tok musher Hugh Neff is back to a run a race he won back in 2012 but has finished second behind Moore now for two years in a row.

Jeff King will take his eighth run at the Quest, after a 25-year absence from the race. He last ran in 1990 and last won in 1989. Also looking for a return to past glory is Lance Mackey, who won four years in a row from 2005 through 2008, but scratched last year. Healy’s Dave Dalton, who’s run the race 24 times, is also in the mix.

Withdrawing from the race last year just 100 miles from the finish line due to a head injury, Eureka musher Brent Sass is returning to the race with a team of dogs he said he’s raised since they were puppies. Other than last year’s withdraw, Sass has finished in the top ten every year since 2008, and was in second place when he left last year’s race.

Continuing to make a name for himself is young Norwegian musher Joar Leifseth Ulsom, who finished 6th in his 2012 rookie Quest run and in the top ten of the last two Iditarods.

]]>http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2015/01/07/yukon-quest-lineup-includes-nome-musher-redingtons-rookie-run/feed/3PAWS of Nome Supplements Animal Care and Advocacy in Townhttp://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2014/12/01/paws-of-nome-supplements-animal-care-and-advocacy-in-town/
http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2014/12/01/paws-of-nome-supplements-animal-care-and-advocacy-in-town/#commentsMon, 01 Dec 2014 20:05:45 +0000http://www.knom.org/wp/?p=13259People for Animal Welfare and Safety, or PAWS, of Nome has been hard at work the past few weeks. With limited veterinary care in Nome and a large number of animals around town, they’ve been providing extra services to the four-legged members of our community.]]>http://www.knom.org/wp-audio/2014/11/2014-11-28-PAWS.mp3

People for Animal Welfare and Safety, or PAWS, of Nome has been hard at work the past few weeks. With limited veterinary care in Nome and a large number of animals around town, they’ve been providing extra services to the four-legged members of our community.

Alyssa Wolf with PAWS said the organization has a few new members, and with temperatures cooling down, their most recent project was delivering wooden houses and straw to dogs in town that might not otherwise have shelter. But Wolf said they have other projects throughout the year.

Brand new wooden dog boxes. Photo courtesy of PAWS of Nome.

“We did a dog walking program this summer and we walked several of the dogs around town that normally don’t get off their chain and they just loved it,” said Wolf. “They were so happy to be able to get off and walk.”

Wolf said it’s unhealthy and dangerous for a dog to be chained up for a long time without getting exercise. They can become aggressive because the inactivity causes their mental health to deteriorate. Wolf recommends regular exercise for your safety and your dog’s health.

“Even twice a week take your dog off and run them or walk them. That helps,” she said.

Wolf said PAWS would like to get an animal control officer in Nome and change some city animal ordinances that they feel are too broad—such as what proper animal shelter looks like and how often animals should be fed.

And PAWS is involved in a lot more than just general animal care. They’ve also been acting to address the medical needs of pets in the community, partnering with organizations like Alaska Rural Veterinary Outreach, or ARVO. On request, ARVO can visit to host spay and neuter clinics, or provide veterinary care on a temporary basis. Wolf said Everett’s Air Cargo has a useful program where you can fly your dog round trip to Anchorage for $50 if you need to visit an animal hospital. She doesn’t think many people know about the program, but she’s seen it utilized in emergencies.

Paws is hoping to help with the vaccination clinic this winter, which is where you can get your pet license and a number of necessary shots.

“Generally, the first parvo vaccine—or it’s also called the 5-in-1 shot—has distemper, hepatitis, leptospirosis, parvovirus and parainfluenza. That’s the 5-in-1 shot and generally the first vaccine is given at 68 weeks of age,” said Wolf.

In addition to shots, she said it’s incredibly important to spay or neuter your pet. If you don’t, female dogs can get pyometra, which is fatal, and male dogs can get cancer.

“I don’t think people understand that their dog can get very sick from not being spayed or neutered,” said Wolf. “Also, the population. There are so many unwanted animals within the United States. Breeding is not something that needs to be done considering there are litters of puppies just being killed because they don’t have room and resources to take care of them.”

Wolf said PAWS is planning a spay and neuter clinic in Nome for next spring.

One Nome dog enjoys a mix of ham, chicken, broth and vegetables that PAWS provided for Thanksgiving. Photo courtesy of PAWS of Nome.

]]>http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2014/12/01/paws-of-nome-supplements-animal-care-and-advocacy-in-town/feed/2Sled Dogs, Muskox Clash Againhttp://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2014/11/03/sled-dogs-muskox-clash-again/
http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2014/11/03/sled-dogs-muskox-clash-again/#commentsMon, 03 Nov 2014 17:40:30 +0000http://www.knom.org/wp/?p=12654In yet another clash between canine and ungulate, two dogs were injured last weekend by a muskox near a biking trail in Nome.]]>http://www.knom.org/wp-audio/2014/10/2014-10-30-another-muskox-attack.mp3

In yet another clash between canine and ungulate, two dogs were injured last weekend by a muskox near a biking trail in Nome.

The dogs, which belong to musher Kirsten Bey, were flown to Anchorage for veterinary care and are now recovering. This latest incident comes after a series of muskox attacks throughout the summer and fall.

The early subsistence hunt came after a number of attempts by wildlife managers to drive the muskox outside city limits. Those attempts ranged from deterrents like predator decoys and bear urine, to rubber bullets and foot patrols herding the muskox away from populated areas — all to relatively little avail.

A herd of muskox could be seen last week milling around the Nome Municipal Landfill.

By contrast, the 2015-2016 Tier II muskox hunt is now open for applications. Hunters in units 22B, 22C, 22D and 23 Southwest can submit an application online by December 15th, or send mail postmarked by November 30th.

]]>http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2014/11/03/sled-dogs-muskox-clash-again/feed/0First Muskox Killed in Early Hunt While Dog Attacks Continuehttp://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2014/08/06/first-muskox-killed-in-early-hunt-while-dog-attacks-continue/
http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2014/08/06/first-muskox-killed-in-early-hunt-while-dog-attacks-continue/#commentsWed, 06 Aug 2014 19:31:02 +0000http://www.knom.org/wp/?p=11058Over the weekend, a hunter in Nome killed the first muskox since the Alaska Department of Fish & Game opened the hunt on August 1. Meanwhile, another dog was attacked on Anvil Mountain.]]>http://www.knom.org/wp-audio/2014/08/2014-08-06-musk-ox-kill.mp3

Tony Gorn, wildlife biologist for Fish & Game, said the department received a call about an animal in town and alerted the five permit holders in Unit 22(C) that a bull was available for harvest.

“We responded to a muskox that was close to town, and it was just a unique opportunity—now with the regulation change that we made—for the hunter to harvest this animal,” said Gorn. “The hunter became aware that it was there and went out and got it.”

Gorn did not release the name of the hunter, but said the hunter used a shotgun to take the animal—a mature, lone bull—in lower Dry Creek. Some Nome residents have attributed much of the recent violence to one old bull, but Gorn said this muskox wasn’t displaying aggressive behavior when it was killed.

Four permit holders are still eligible for a muskox take until the season closes in mid-March. But Gorn said he’s skeptical about how effective the hunt will be in shifting the distribution of the herd.

“It’s going to be very difficult to identify. With or without hunting, we’ve had muskox in the Nome area for several years and they come and they go all by themselves,” said Gorn. “It’s going to be very difficult to say we killed one muskox bull and now our problems are over, or we killed five muskox bulls and all our problems are over now.”

While the hunt may be an opportunity to eliminate the immediate nuisance if permit holders target specific ‘problem bulls,’ Gorn said the true challenge is finding a long-term solution.

“This idea—and I know there’s a lot of frustrated people in town but—this idea that Fish and Game can somehow create a muskox free zone around Nome—it’s going to be difficult, if not impossible, to do,” said Gorn.

Gorn said keeping the herds completely out of Nome means having greater threats in town than they would face in the wild with their natural predators, like bears and wolves. For now, he said there’s no overnight fix to the muskox problem.

Meanwhile, another dog is recovering after being gored by a muskox, this time on Anvil Mountain. Monica Gomez’s dog Kona is recovering from the attack that came late last week during a run on the iconic Nome hilltop.

Gomez said her children and their friend Taylor McDaniel were taking the dog on a run when the dog ran into the fog. McDaniel said the kids piled into the truck to go looking for their pet.

“About ten minutes later we heard yelping, and we were just honking, figuring she would come to the truck if she heard it,” said McDaniel. “About five minutes later, she came up to the truck limping with blood coming down her rear thigh.”

Gomez said Kona got 13 stitches but seems to be recovering well. Now, she’s urging her children to take extra precautions since the muskox have been behaving unpredictably.

Kona, with 13 stitches in her backside, is resting up on a mattress outside Monica Gomez’s house in Nome. Photo: Jenn Ruckel, KNOM.

]]>http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2014/08/06/first-muskox-killed-in-early-hunt-while-dog-attacks-continue/feed/0Nome Woman Claims Defense of Life and Property as Muskox Kill Citation Drops to a Warninghttp://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2014/08/04/nome-woman-claims-defense-of-life-and-property-as-muskox-kill-citation-drops-to-a-warning/
http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2014/08/04/nome-woman-claims-defense-of-life-and-property-as-muskox-kill-citation-drops-to-a-warning/#commentsTue, 05 Aug 2014 00:45:13 +0000http://www.knom.org/wp/?p=11031Nome resident Diana Adams will not face criminal charges after Wildlife troopers changed her summons for taking a musk ox out of season to a written warning. And while Adams said that’s a relief, she maintains that the July 17 kill was in defense of life and property, or DLP.]]>http://www.knom.org/wp-audio/2014/08/2014-08-04-DLP.mp3

Nome resident Diana Adams will not face criminal charges after wildlife troopers changed her summons for taking a musk ox out of season to a written warning. And while Adams said that’s a relief, she maintains that the July 17 kill was in defense of life and property, or DLP.

Early that morning, Adams discovered a herd of muskox in Icy View and called 911 after attempting to chase them away with her truck. Then she found the animals in her backyard.

“There was a muskox off to my left. It was eating. I walked over; I yelled at it. It stopped, it looked at me, and then it went back to eating,” said Adams. “I went in, I put three slugs into my shotgun and a round of birdshot as warning shot.”

Adams fired that warning shot and continued yelling at the muskox to no avail. One cow walked straight to her dog pen and was nose to nose with her dog Little Sister.

“I really felt scared for the dog. I was afraid the dog would get hurt. So I aimed the shotgun at the animal and even then I didn’t shoot. I just waited,” said Adams. “And when the muskox dipped its head as I’ve seen them do so many times before when they attack something, then I shot it.”

Adams called 911 again immediately after killing the animal, and began processing the meat, which was donated to the XYZ Senior Center. Adams said in the past, the city, the Alaska Department of Fish & Game and an Alaska State Trooper told her that killing a muskox is permitted in protection of dogs, but she was informed after the July incident that her kill was not a DLP case.

“I was told that the pen itself did not constitute property under the defense of life and property regulations. I was told that a garden area or landscaping did not constitute protection of property. I didn’t read the regs that way,” said Adams. “To me the circumstances of a DLP need to be specific and outlined if a layperson can’t read them and act accordingly.”

Just days after the citation was issued another muskox attack happened in a dog lot Adams shares with Mitch Erickson off the Little Creek Road. Erickson’s dog Onslo was fatally gored, and the chain-link pen destroyed.

Adams said Wildlife Trooper Mike Cresswell dropped the citation to a warning late last week “in the interest of justice.” Trooper spokesperson Beth Ipsen said Friday the department can’t comment on a case that’s ongoing.

]]>http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2014/08/04/nome-woman-claims-defense-of-life-and-property-as-muskox-kill-citation-drops-to-a-warning/feed/1Allen Moore and Aliy Zirkle enjoy the pre-race hubbub before they get down to business.http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2014/03/03/allen-moore-and-aliy-zirkle-enjoy-the-pre-race-hubbub-before-they-get-down-to-business/
http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2014/03/03/allen-moore-and-aliy-zirkle-enjoy-the-pre-race-hubbub-before-they-get-down-to-business/#commentsMon, 03 Mar 2014 13:46:03 +0000http://www.knom.org/wp/?p=7400Aliy Zirkle and Allen Moore work as a team to prepare healthy, race-ready dogs. Coming off his 2014 Yukon Quest victory, Allen Moore takes a back seat for the Iditarod, as Aliy runs their elite team, hoping for a finish at the top.]]>

2014 Yukon Quest champion Allen Moore passed his winning team to partner Aliy Zirkle for the 2014 Iditarod. She’ll be running 12 of his 14 dog Quest team and will be adding 4 more to round up to 16. He says trail conditions should be similar to the Quest and after 1000 miles of ice and low snow under their belts, the dogs should be prepared for this tough race.

The two mushers decided long ago that they want one “A” team to be contenders in each race, and that team, for Iditarod 42, runs with Aliy. Allen’s goal this year is to get his young team of dogs to the finish line in Nome, “and then the next year, hopefully, they’ll be in the #1 team. I had several in my team last year, and they’re actually in Aliy’s #1 team this year.”

Allen Moore, leaving the starting line during Saturday’s Ceremonial Start.

Allen favors running the race behind partner Aliy, rather than watching her race from the computer. “It’s a lot easier for me, being back in the race, rather than being at home.” He feels confident in their A-team’s ability, after their run in the Quest: “They’re really healthy and good and know what to expect, and hopefully [they’ll] have good results.”

Aliy Zirkle crams in her chats with fans at the start, realizing once the race is underway, chats with fans are few and far between.

Aliy Zirkle signs an autograph at the Sunday re-start in Willow, Alaska.

Running most of Allen Moore’s team coming off the 2014 Yukon Quest victory, Zirkle says they’re also predominantly the same dog team that brought her in second place for the 2013 Iditarod. So they’re trained for long distances, and this race will not be new to them.

With a couple second place finishes behind her, Zirkle comments that “No one wants it more than I do. I would love for [a win] to happen. There’s a heck of a lot of miles between now and then, and I’m not going to make any guesses…” She’s hoping that she ends up at least near the top this year. With some steep competition this year, she certainly has her job cut out for her.

Considering the hard and fast trail conditions this year, Aliy’s “not too worried.” She feels she has a good command on a very responsive team: “They’re better than driving a pick-up truck.” She knows there will be challenges, but doesn’t waste too much mental energy on worrying about how things will be. She takes the challenges as they come, plans on “hanging on, steering around stumps and trees, and hope for the best.”

IDITAROD 42 IS UPON US. DOGS, TRAIL, SLEDS, STRATEGY, SLEEPLESS NIGHTS, SNOW, NO SNOW, WIND… IT’S AN EXCITING RACE! And KNOM will be there in the mix of it all, bringing the best coverage to you on KNOM-AM & FM and right here on our website, from start to glorious finish on Front Street in Nome.

Coverage begins Saturday at the Ceremonial Start in downtown Anchorage. Tune into KNOM at 10am as we broadcast live Saturday morning, direct from 4th Avenue. Coverage continues on-air beginning on Monday, March 3, with daily race updates at 9a, 12p, and 5p. Also tune in during these times to hear musher interviews delivered by race reporter Laureli Kinneen.

And brand new this year, web coverage includes blogging and photographs from trail blogger David Dodman. Any time of day, come to www.knom.org and see the latest photos and comments on all the action from checkpoint to checkpoint along the trail.

KNOM’s race coverage is brought to you this year by sponsors including Bering Straits Native Corporation, Northern Air Cargo, Nome Joint Utility System, Norton Sound Economic Development Corporation, TelAlaska, and Wells Fargo.

]]>http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2014/02/28/iditarod-2014-want-race-coverage-weve-got-it/feed/3Mush!http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2013/09/27/mush/
http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2013/09/27/mush/#commentsFri, 27 Sep 2013 18:05:41 +0000http://www.knom.org/blog/wp/?p=4438I can’t believe that no one has written about going mushing.

Last week Tara, Zach, and I joined a local KNOM volunteer on one of his tri-weekly dog runs. He’s training for Iditarod qualifiers, and is starting to get into full season runs. He owns three dog teams: one for himself, one that belongs to his daughter for the Junior Iditarod, and a team of Greenlandic dogs that they race as a hobby. The dogs are kept chained to outside posts, where they won’t overheat, and are each given a doghouse and a bowl for food. It is clear that these dogs are not house pets – indeed, they tend to destroy the houses that they are kept in – but athletes. They consume upwards of 10,000 calories per day and are pure muscle.

The view from the four-wheeler

To train his team, he hooks the dogs to the front of his four-wheeler and drives between seven and ten miles per hour for twenty miles. The dogs run through all kinds of rough terrain, including through water, up the surrounding mountains, and through an asphalt mine. They wear reflectors on their harnesses so that when they cross a highway – which they did several times – they are visible to oncoming traffic. There is no way to predict the conditions of the Iditarod or qualifying trails, so the dogs have to be used to all kinds of environments to race effectively. He coaches them the whole time, calling them by name to praise their focus or get them back in line.

I was not familiar with the Iditarod before applying to KNOM – somehow I missed that essential part of the standard middle school curriculum – so I didn’t appreciate the effort that goes into the race. Mushing, especially mushing through the mud as we were, is a messy business. By the end of the run, we were all freezing, covered in mud, and we smelled like a pack of wet and stinky dogs. I felt like I had personally run five miles, even though I had just sat in the four-wheeler for the entire trip. This sport is much more intense than anything you can play in open gym. It requires total devotion to a team that is not even of your species, and consumes more hours per week than a part time job. I haven’t gotten an exact figure on how much it costs to keep and race a team through the qualifiers and the Iditarod, but I have a sneaking suspicion that it is astronomically expensive (the cost of the booties alone!).

Like everything else in Alaska, sport is more concentrated, more intense, and much higher-stakes than in the Lower 48. It costs much more money and takes much more time, and demands much more energy. Alaska is not a place for the feint of heart. I hope to build up even half the stamina of the people I’ve met here.

Technology and Medicine have played nicely together for many years now, as one spurs on advances in the other, but surgery in particular relies on technology to get the most done with the least amount of damage. A new surgical headset designed by Sony, and that is being used in Japan as of last week, allows surgeons to have closeup views of their work, in 3D, and still be able to use their “Mark 1 Eyeballs” to get an overview and make sure that everything is correct. The display uses 2 HD OLED screens, which allow for 3D vision and a “picture in picture” setup that can be adjusted by head motions, to reduce the amount of hand motion that might interfere with the delicate surgery. The headset displays aren’t cheap, costing around fifteen-thousand dollars each, but may help save lives and provide detailed information to surgeons immediately.

Facial reconstruction is an old art, dating back to Egyptians who built false noses and ears to replace those lost in war or agricultural accident. Modern soldiers often suffer facial injuries which have been cause for disfigurement, but thanks to CBCT scans, which can show bone structure and create a 3D reconstruction, they may now be able to obtain accurate facial prosthetics that restore their original facial structure and look. These scans allow for 3D printed prosthetics to be made extremely accurate, either matching the structure on the opposite side of the face, or being reconstructed from a reference image. But to be most accurate, a “before” image needs to be taken – and the company is working with the US military to scan the facial structure of each serviceman or woman. This image would also allow doctors to practice in a Virtual Reality rig, to ensure that the reconstruction is accurate.

Have you ever wanted to know what your dog is thinking? Well, that sort of technology isn’t yet available – but the next closest thing may be Georgia Institute of Technology’s FIDO, which stands for “Facilitating Interactions with Dogs with Occupations”. FIDO is a collar with different sensors attached that allow a trained dog to lick, bite, or otherwise manipulate the sensors to send a message to their handler with more information. In the case of screening dogs, it could be used to identify either an infraction, like possession of drugs, or a threat, like parts of a bomb. In a more personal usage, FIDO could allow guide dogs to clarify information, and give signals for obstructed routes, or unexpected terrain problems. As the technology makes its way to the traditional home, it may help a dog let its owner know about needing food, water, walks, or other canine needs!

]]>http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2013/08/05/living-in-the-future-august-5-2013/feed/0Temporary Residencehttp://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2013/07/16/temporary-residence/
http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2013/07/16/temporary-residence/#commentsTue, 16 Jul 2013 17:00:43 +0000http://www.knom.org/blog/wp/?p=4002Right now I’m house-sitting a small dog named Sparky and six zebra finches. They and the house they live in belong to an old woman down the street. I’ve watered her plants, slept in her guest bed, walked her dog and laying on a couch with a dog snuggled against my side for three weeks.

Sparky the Magnificent.

This is the longest I’ve ever house sat for anyone. But housesitting is a common temporary occupation in Nome, especially for the KNOM volunteers. Lower 48ers tend to leave on a biannual basis and when they leave it’s often for a long stretch, two to three weeks, to make the expensive flights and Arctic winters away from family worth it. So they need a young person who wants to live somewhere else for a while and with no family of their own to tie them to their own place to stay over for weeks at a time. KNOM volunteers fit the bill.

Housesitting is a great thing to do. Besides getting a little vacation of my own I get to see how a certain demographic of Nomeites live. As a KNOM volunteer I’m often stuck in the KNOM bubble, shuffle between the house and the station next door on our 1 acre lot. It’s nice to get out and see how others live in this community I’m sharing.

We’ve housesat for all sorts of houses and living things, small houses on the middle of the tundra with outhouses, big dogs, small dogs, cats named George. We’ve slept on other people’s couches, learned how other people organize their kitchens, thumbed through their books, lived among their photos of their loved ones. And wondered if that’s an awkward thing to do.

(elsa’s house)

When you house sit, especially when you can’t figure out how to use the TV and forget your book at home and there’s no internet, you start thinking about housesitting. And you realize strange thing about belonging. What does it mean for something to belong to someone?

But is it strange? At what point does something belong to someone? Not that I’m going to take anything from these people—I still respect American property rights—I just mean, you just realize the temporary nature of everything. I mean when I think about it, all of us KNOM volunteers are just house-sitters for a year or two. The Volunteer house continually cycles through new young occupants, reusing beds, towels others have used, rooms others have decorated and slept in and farted in for years at a time. We’re all really just house sitting, doing the best to take care of what we have until we move on.

But the beautiful thing is the things we leave behind are never really lost. We may never touch them again. But another person may find them. In our absence we give another person the chance to do their best to take care of them, to learn how to treasure the utensils, rooms, and people we have loved.

Of course they might do awful things. They might throw the things we liked away, ignore them, or break them. and there’s nothing we can do about it, really, but hope for the best.

Perhaps that’s the most remarkable thing about house-sitting. It’s driven by necessity but fueled by trust. And since we’re all always coming and going and needing and leaving the same basic things (plates, rooms, people) that survive better when they’re taken care of, and since we’re all hoping others will care of the things we loved when we’re gone, our temporary residence necessitates trust.

Top 5 favorite things I’ll miss about the KNOM House: the Hercules plate…